Graham Marsh Golf Design to redesign RACV Royal Pines Resort

Queensland design company Graham Marsh Golf Design has been appointed to redevelop the championship course at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast. The $5 Million project attracted submissions from more than 20 golf course design companies globally, with Marsh selected after a short-list was drawn up that included fellow ‘signature’ company Thomson Perrett (with Karrie Webb) along with Bob Harrison, Neil Crafter & Paul Mogford (Golf Strategies) and Turner MacPherson.

Earlier this year it was announced that the RACV Royal Pines Resort would host the Australian PGA Championship for the next five years, along with the Ladies Masters Tournament for the next three. In order to stiffen the challenge and avoid the “embarrassment” of a low winning score, the motoring body decided a major redesign was required.

The decision to award the design contract to Graham Marsh’s company comes as less of a surprise when you learn that the appointment was made after consultation with a committee that included “experts” from the PGA of Australia. The PGA was never likely to recommend a standalone course architect over one of its own members, which explains why only Marsh and Thomson Perrett were interviewed for the job out of the short-listed five.

Said Sue Blake from the RACV rather cryptically, "Graham impressed us with his wonderful ability to meet the needs associated with one of our top resort courses whilst also being a test of golf for both men and women professional players, each at their championship levels.”

She added that the “RACV Royal Pines Resort has a high-profile in the golfing world, and there was strong interest from a number of top-calibre designers, making this a much sought after commission.” Despite reveling in the interest created from across the golfing sphere, the fact that Graham Marsh Golf Design was based nearby on the Gold Coast apparently worked in his favour.

The wisdom or otherwise of the RACV’s decision to appoint Marsh will become apparent once the redevelopment starts, and golfers start judging his new holes against the fairly unremarkable collection that are there today. We look forward to following this project closely.

Back to News

More News